Jump to content

Mini Mud Crab on steroids???


mangler

Recommended Posts

G'day, can anyone tell me what kind of crab this is, I have looked at books, online etc to no avail. They look like mutant mud crabs, the body is quite small, the biggest I have seen was probably 9cm across, however the claws are quite massive in comparison to the body size, and the claws have black tips. I have caught several of them in crab pots in cabbage tree creek at Shorncliffe.

One night I caught one and an Asian gentleman was fishing nearby & he said they look like mudcrabs they catch in China.

A week or so later I caught another couple so I took one up to the co-op to see if any of the fisho's could identify it, they said it was a "rock crab" of some kind?

Anyone know what they are, and what they taste like, haven't been game to try one yet.

Some pics.

[img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/DSC03366_AFO.jpg

post-2878-144598456124_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

most bookshops or the museum. about $30. awesome reference guide for invertebrates and birds around the bay. doesn't have a totally comprehensive fish section but you'll get the general idea. all the common ones are covered. well worth the purchase. i'll have a squizz tonight if someone doesnt beat me to it. it'll probably be something like a black tipped mangrove crab, we are an inventive bunch when it comes to common names. :laugh: i caught some red and white spotted crabs in a pot off mud once, you guess it - call "white spotted red reef crab". how boring! :laugh:

uglyfish - a coral crab is orange qand blue/grey in colour and quite a bit bigger than these guys. bloody good on the chew though if you come across them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ha ha, cobia bait, not sure I'd get them in the creek at Shorncliffe? Might have to bring one home next time & try at the Indooroopilly Bridge...

But that is a good tip, will have to remember that for one day that I am so lucky to be out on a boat chasing cobia! :cheer:

Thanks for the replies so far everyone, black tipped mangrove crab sounds like a good name.

Australians have a knack for naming things, a road out west I used to travel on quite often had crossings over the following creeks:

Sandy Ck - it was sandy

Rocky Ck - it was rocky

Dry Ck - it was dry :ohmy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shrimpo wrote:

Cowfish13 wrote:
Also in line with the Aussie naming system. How about Roady Rd, near Chermside I think:lol::silly:

Its actually spelt Rode Rd

Had some freinds come up from Sydey and no matter what, to them, it was 'Road' road.

Pretty silly name but.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mangler. I work at the Queensland Museum and can ask our curator about it when I get there on Tuesday. The curator is Peter Davies and I know he has done intensive work on crabs (I designed a Muddies poster for him a few years back).

By the way anyone can ask questions directly of the QM, through our web site, but if the inquiry centre staff can't answer it straight away it may take some times to get to the relevant curator:


/>http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/inquiry/contact/index.asp

Hey Benno thanks for the kind words about the Moreton Bay Wild guide, its great to hear this hands-on use of our publications.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Mangler,

As promised I called Peter Davie and this is his reply:

This one is actually in the Wildlife of Tropical Queensland (p. 58).

=============

Slow-moving Shore Crab

Myomenippe fornassinii

Identification: Body to 75 mm across. Steely blue-grey; massive claws with black fingers; smooth, oval shell has four teeth on edge behind eyes, last 2 sharply pointed.

Habitat and Range: Common in crevices and holes in rotting logs or stumps, especially in mangroves. Northern Australia; Indo-West Pacific.

=============

Probably you would have to be unlucky for it to be poisonous, but I wouldn't take the chance.

Cheers,

Peter

P.J.F. Davie

Senior Curator (Crustacea)

Co-Editor (Aquatic Biodiversity), Memoirs of the Queensland Museum

Queensland Centre for Biodiversity

Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane QLD 4101 Australia

I hope that helps you out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh yeh,

The "Wild Guide to Moreton Bay" is actually out of print at the moment and incredibly hard to source, we have none here at the Museum.

I am reliably informed, however, that the photographers at the Queensland Museum have been in the field the past 5 months getting shots for a new edition hopefully out at the end of 2008 early 2009.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

kreel wrote:

Oh yeh,

The "Wild Guide to Moreton Bay" is actually out of print at the moment and incredibly hard to source, we have none here at the Museum.

I am reliably informed, however, that the photographers at the Queensland Museum have been in the field the past 5 months getting shots for a new edition hopefully out at the end of 2008 early 2009.

can i place an order now? do you take master card? :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...